


Cinder

by whiteautumn



Category: Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: AU where Touya's the Champion during the events of BW, Aged-Up Character(s), Awkward Romance, BW with some B2W2 setting, F/M, For N and Touya that is, M/M, PokeSpe elements, Slow Burn, half-romance and half-introspection fic for Touya tbh, if you think they took long enough in the game they're going to take even longer here, slightly more-tsun-than-usual Touya, the kuroship is platonic on Touya's end and romantic on Cheren's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 17:18:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14242095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whiteautumn/pseuds/whiteautumn
Summary: It started with a critique and began with an infatuation. Touya did not expect it to bloom, but there was no way it wouldn’t wither, especially with the circumstances they find themselves in. N believes otherwise. But that’s exactly why they were Truth and Ideals, wasn’t it?After all, weren’t they just two opposing strangers who met at a crossroad, destined to separate in the end?





	1. First Contact

**Author's Note:**

> What do you do when you're stressed beyond all earthly creations (wtf) for finals? Look through your hard drive for some semblance of salvation tbh.  
> This fic has been sitting in my harddrive for. five. years. (I'm lucky I didn't lose it when my previous macbook pro died last year.)
> 
> FIVE. FREAKING. YEARS. 
> 
> I still love this storyline though so I decided I should just post this up. 
> 
> **Some notes from 17-yo me:**  
>  \- N and Touya might not end up together – I blame Russia novel influences. We’ll just have to see how it flows, alright? But I will put in lots of Isshushipping to make up for that.  
> \- I will be using Touko’s trainer name White because…. They aren’t twins in this and I’m honestly not very comfortable with using Touko as it sounds so much like Touya. Also, she's more PokeSpe White than Touko, so.  
> \- Bianca keeps her Japanese name, Bel. She's B2W2 Bel, which means she's working as Juniper's assistant now.  
> \- Cheren here's the B2W2 Gym Leader!Cheren. This means the gyms will be switched around a little (think B2W2 config).  
> \- Touya and co are about 17. N's 19. I closed the age-gap between them.
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** Don't own, nor do I gain monetary profit from this. Salvaging some of my sanity, maybe.

N Harmonia was not, by any means, unreasonable. He thought as he stood amongst the crowd gathered at the center of Accumula Town. For all his life he only wanted what was the best for all Pokémon, which was their liberation from the grasps of selfish humans.

“I am Ghetsis, Ghetsis of Team Plasma. Today, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to talk to all of you about Pokémon liberation.”

And becoming King of Team Plasma was only the starting point. He stared ahead at Ghetsis, gaze never moving away from his foster father. Not only was he now able to spread his ideals to the people of Unova and be able to save his friends, he also –

“This is useless.”

_What?_ His head snapped up and emerald green eyes scanned the crowd critically, trying to locate the source. A mop of slightly unruly chestnut brown hair entered his vision, and he paused. The boy seemed no older than seventeen, with large dark honey-coloured eyes that shone a maroon under the light. He was wearing a dark blue jacket and black tights. A taller dark-haired male was standing beside him, tugging on his red tie and mumbling about something being troublesome.

But he wasn’t the person N should be focusing on, he snapped his attention back to the brown-haired boy, eyeing him. There was just simply no way a child like him could understand his great ideals, but there was something about that boy that screamed _that he understood_ , he just didn’t agree.  

_Now that’s interesting_ , N thought as he continued staring pensively at the boy. The other, however, seemed to have noticed his stare and turned his attention to him.

“Is there anything I can help you with?” 

The green-haired ruler heard Ghetsis ending his speech and people dispersing from the immediate area. He didn’t – couldn’t – even hear the comments that some of the easily convinced trainers made about releasing their Pokémon. All that stood out to him was the other. Wordlessly, he walked towards the duo.

_“Human! If you’re planning to do Touya harm, you better not get too close!”_

He blinked and stopped, directing his vision to one of the Pokéballs on the boy’s belt. That was definitely a Pokémon, _but it’s surprising… to think that there are still Pokémon who will say that kind of thing to defend their trainer_ , he mused, turning his focus back to the trainer – Touya.

“Your Pokémon, just now it was saying…”

“Woah, hold up, you talk way too fast.” His reply didn’t come from the brown-haired trainer – like he expected it to – but from his frowning companion next to him.

“I wasn’t talking to you, but to Touya.” He muttered a reply, watching the frown change to a raised eyebrow, and the other – _Touya, his name is Touya_ , he reminded himself silently – blinked, his nonchalant expression changing to an intrigued one in that split of a second.

“If you know my name… Then you must be here to battle me, right?” Touya reached for one of the Pokéballs on his belt, and N could see a Samurott resting in it. It must have been the same Pokémon who had spoken earlier on. N thought, slightly amused but still very much confused by the Pokémon’s words. As Touya got ready to throw out his Pokéball, the taller male stopped him.

“Touya! You know you’re not allowed to battle aside from official –” N got a bit of satisfaction when Touya cut him off.

“Cheren, don’t stop me. Please.” Oh, so that’s his name. N was getting tired of referring to him as “Touya’s companion”.

“No, actually it’s fine. I’ll just stop for today. Besides, I don’t like battles that hurt my friends unnecessarily.” They turned and stared at him, but N simply turned around and walked away. Ghetsis and the rest of Team Plasma were waiting for his return, he couldn't keep them waiting for too long after all. Besides…

“I’m sure we’ll meet again somewhere, Touya.”

 

* * *

  

Cheren and Touya watched in silence the other disappeared down the streets of Accumula. The taller then sighed, tugging on his tie again.

“What a weird person.” He remarked offhandedly, Touya blinked and shrugged, returning Samurott’s Pokéball to his belt.

“I don't know. He seemed… interesting enough I guess. There’s just something about him…” The Champion trailed off, not knowing how to describe the feeling that he got from the other.

Being an introvert and slightly shy by nature, Touya has never really met anyone who caught his interest and made him want to interact to a large extend at first sight. Not even his childhood-and-current best friends, Cheren and Bel, had managed to accomplish that. It had taken lots of subtle jabs on Cheren’s part and Bel’s hyperactive personality – when she joined them later on – to get him to open up to them – and even if they are his best friends, Touya can say for sure that he hasn’t really opened up fully yet. Cheren and Bel thankfully did not push him about that, and he was glad that they understood him so well.

But that person, a random stranger that he just met, had something that lit up a spark in Touya – although he still isn’t sure what that spark was all about, nor did he know what that something was. He had caught Touya’s full interest just with his stare – and that was a huge feat, accomplished by no one.

Up until a few moments ago, that is. 

“Really? He said something about Pokémon talking, didn’t he? That’s… weird.” Cheren remarked and Touya simply shrugged his shoulders again.

“Whatever it is, I have this feeling that we will meet him again.”

“How troublesome.” The Gym Leader mumbled, as he watched Touya lapse back into his own thoughts.

 

* * *

 

“Welcome back, N-sama.” The Seven Sages greeted N as he entered the castle, with Ghetsis in the middle. N merely nodded, his hand resting on Zorua, who was perched on his shoulder.

“How was your trip?” His father – wait, no, _Ghetsis_ – questioned politely as he followed N down the castle into his room, Anthea and Concordia silently behind the both of them.

“It was fine.” He stroked Zorua’s fur gently once and smiled when heard it purr a thanks in satisfaction. Thoughts going back to Touya – who had already occupied all of his thoughts on his journey back – he wondered, not for the first time in the past hour, just who exactly Touya was. To not give a reaction at all when he heard his name called by a random person on the streets, as well as the speed and fluency that he had when he reached for Samurott’s Pokéball – N just had to grimace at this – Touya has to be a _very_ skilled trainer at the very least.

_Famous too._ N added as an afterthought, before turning to Ghetsis when they reached the entrance of his room.

“I’d like information on someone.” If Ghetsis was surprised, he didn’t show it. “On a trainer named Touya.”

The Sage acknowledged with a bow, “Of course, N-sama. I’ll have it ready by tomorrow. Have a good night, my lord.” Anthea and Concordia then curtsied politely as well, wishing him a good night in soft, wistful tones. N merely nodded and entered his room, shutting the door behind him.

And only in the safe confines of his room, was he able to entertain the image of Touya. Although he hated humans – and trainers and Pokémon battles even more – he found Touya intriguing, and the amber spark in his honey-brown eyes – when he was about to battle N – unforgettable.

_And beautiful._ He murmured softly, not noticing Zorua’s look of interest when he did that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you know me by my other fic Birds of a Feather, you'd know that I played the games in original Japanese (took me ages when I was younger but I'm going through them a lot faster now) - which means I might get the English names of some Pokemons confused because I don't always check bulba (I should, though). Also, you'd know that I have a habit of being inconsistent in terms of names because I think they sound better. For example, the elite four will keep their English-version names while Touya remains as Touya. Bear with me please, I really hate translated names sometimes.
> 
> Also, I've come to realise that the only reason why I haven't posted this earlier is because I had no title for this. Huh. It does now though! And it will become obvious why I've chosen this particular title. All in due time.
> 
> (I am also aiming to update BoaF soon tbh.)


	2. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touya attempts to bridge himself with what he might have lost since becoming Champion, while being haunted by thoughts of the curious boy he'd seen the other day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is significantly longer than the first - 17 year-old me was.... tbh Idek anymore. 
> 
> I only have one more chapter in store left before it's just plans and more plans that I won't be able to write soon due to finals. But, we'll see where it goes. (When I do start writing again though, the style is going to shift quite a bit. Oops.)

_“What makes a Champion, Touya? It’s not just about the raw strength of your Pokémon, but about your bonds with them, how you grow with them. It’s not about power, but the ability to unite. A person all trainers can aspire and look up to – ”_

Touya groaned and slammed his hand down on his alarm clock, the recesses of sleep still lingering in his mind. He blinked his eyes blearily, before sighing and snuggling back into the covers.

It’s been a while since he had that dream. He traced invisible patterns on his pillow, recalling the words from Alder from - gosh it felt like forever – six months ago, when he conquered the league successfully.

It was when he still – _no_ , it’ll do him no good to think about that right now. He sighed again and buried his head under covers, only to grumble in annoyance when he heard his X-Tranceiver ringing.

Breathing out a puff of air in resignation – he did have a job to do, after all – he reached for the device, expecting either Marshal or Shauntal – since Marshal was always demanding that he not slack off and Shauntal just liked to talk to him for some reason. Caitlin and Grimsley never bothered with calls, they just _appeared_.

Probably because he was closer to them instead of the other two? He shrugged and answered the call. What he didn’t expect, though, was Elesa’s bright smile.

“Morning Touya!” He winced at her cheerful tone, how could someone be so hyper in the morning?

“Morning ‘Lesa…” muttered Touya, not bothering to continue the conversation any further. He and Elesa were good friends, but that really didn’t stop him from being grumpy in the morning because, well, he just wasn’t a morning person.

He was, however, used to this kind of greeting. Bel always greeted him with that in the mornings, and Cheren was just uptight and awake whenever he was, well, awake.

Seriously, was Cheren even human? Touya wondered sometimes. 

“-ya, TOUYA!” He jumped, having completely forgotten about Elesa.

“Uhhh… What were you saying?” He grinned sheepishly at her, feeling apologetic. 

“I said, as much as I want this to be a social call, it’s not.  You weren’t listening, were you? The Gym Leaders are planning on meeting in Nimbasa next week to discuss about Team Plasma, and we’re wondering if you’d like to join us since, well… Your apartment is located here.” Touya blinked.

“Well I’d love to, since I’m currently monitoring them myself as well,” he smiled when he saw Victini float over to him, awoken by the earlier ringing. “I mean, if it’s not too much of a bother. I’m in Nuvema now, but I’ll be free next week, so why not?”

“Awesome!” Elesa cheered, “But, why are you in Nuvema? To visit your mother?” His face darkened.

“Yeah… Pretty much. Maybe.” He paused. “I went to Accumula yesterday for the exact same reason why we’re meeting up next week.” He scowled, before remembering just _what_ transpired yesterday. Team Plasma’s talk had been useless and boring, and while it did seem that they convinced a few trainers, his main problem wasn’t with _them_.

It was _him_. That boy – young man, really, because even Touya couldn’t be referred to as a boy anymore and the other looked at least a few years older – with green hair.

“Oh, Plasma.” Elesa’s expression fell just like his did, before brightening up again. “Well, I’m sure we can do something about them! Anyways, I have a challenger coming, so I’ll have to catch up later. See you next week then, Touya- _chan_!”

“Hmmm… sure…” He replied absentmindedly, tickling Victini and listening to the giggling noises from it, and still thinking about the guy he met yesterday. There had been something about him that sparked Touya’s attention – and that was rare, considering Touya had been nothing but bored since he became the Champion of the region – but he didn’t know what it was.

It was only after Elesa cut the connection before he registered what she had said.

“Damn you Elesa I’m _not_ a girl! Don’t call me that!” He scowled into the black screen of the transceiver, before shutting it off with the _n_ th sigh this morning.

_Right_ , he thought with a smile as he ushered Victini down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mum would surely have prepared breakfast for all of them, _that guy._

Didn’t he say something about hearing Pokémon’s voices? Touya had no idea how that worked, but he had to admit to himself, while he did understand what Pokémons felt in general – he just had a natural gift at doing that and no one quite knew why – being able to hear their voices and understand word by word of what they said was quite cool.

_‘Anyways, it’s not like we wouldn’t meet again. He did say we would.’_ Touya thought amusedly as he greeted the rest of his team, patting Samurott on the head when the Pokémon demanded for one – as his starter, Samurott was always very attached to Touya, as Touya was to Samurott. 

_“I’m sure we’ll meet again somewhere, Touya.”_

_And I’ll hold him to that._ Touya smiled.

 

* * *

 

Touya was pretty much forced out of the shower by an impatient Cheren after breakfast. His childhood friend had his usual clothes on, arms crossed and leaning against the wall with a small scowl.

The brunette sighed.

“Good morning to you too, Cheren. Why are you here? Don’t you have a Gym to run?” He questioned, trying his best to hide his annoyance – after all, you do not want to piss Cheren off when he’s annoyed. Though, after noticing Victini floating beside Cheren and shooting the Gym Leader a disapproving look, he had to resist the urge to grin.

Cheren didn’t seem to notice the Legendary’s expression and continued on blithely.

“I’m technically on leave until tomorrow. And did you forget, we’re meeting up with Bel and the Professor today to catch up, since we don’t visit very often.” He stated matter-of-factly, then sighed and stared at Touya. “And I still need to come all the way here to get you, how troublesome.”

Touya gave him an apologetic smile that resembled more like a grimace. “Sorry, I guess I just forgot about the time.” Although really, his childhood friend didn't have to drag him out of the bathroom. Cheren snorted when he voiced that out with a hint of annoyance.

“Touya, we’ve been doing this since young. When you won’t wake up for school on time I had to -” Touya cut him off abruptly, thoroughly embarrassed by the reminder.

“Okay, okay I’m going to finish my bath! Just stop talking about that!” He strode back into the bathroom with a blush on his face – actually he was pretty sure he blushed so hard that it had spread to underneath the towel he had wrapped around his torso. Scowling at Cheren’s amused chuckle, he slammed the door in the Gym Leader’s face.

Damn it, Cheren completely deserved that!

 

* * *

 

“Touya! Cheren!” Bel greeted them happily when they stepped into Professor Juniper’s lab. Touya offered her a smile and Cheren, a nod of acknowledgement.

Their lack of enthusiasm didn’t deter Bel, though, as she ran up to give them a hug each, grinning in excitement all the while. Touya resigned himself to that fate and returned her hug – _glomp, really_ , he thought, wincing. He could see that Cheren was a bit tenser, having always been uncomfortable with overly intimate physical contact, even with his closest friends, but returned Bel’s enthusiastic move with a fleeting embrace, before pulling away.

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” Bel chirped happily, “Touya, how does it feel being the Champion? Are the Elite Four members interesting? Are they nice? And Cheren! Is running a Gym fun? Do you get lots of challengers?” Cheren held up a hand to stop her bombardment of questions, rubbing his temples with his other hand in an attempt to stop the headache coming on from Bel’s excitement. Touya had to agree, though, he had forgotten how extreme Bel’s elation could be, and even he – who dealt with it better out of the two – had felt a bit uncomfortable by Bel’s sudden rush of emotions.

Perhaps it really has been way too long. It has been half a year since they last saw each other. And while they did communicate using the X-Transceiver once in a while to catch up briefly, meeting up in person is an entirely different matter.

“Now, now, Bel-chan. There’s no need to get so excited, after all the boys are staying for a while. You have the whole day to question them and share your experiences.” Professor Juniper walked in from the back room, offering both Cheren and Touya a smile.

“Hello Cheren-kun, Touya-kun.” She nodded at them. Suddenly, Touya felt like they had gone back in time to almost a year ago, when he was just about to start his journey. The professor had the very same smile when she handed them the PokéDex – his hand flexed automatically and reached for the machine in his jacket – and told them that she was entrusting them with an important job.

Now that he thought of it, it’s pretty sad that in the end, none of them managed to finish their journey and return a complete Dex to her. Cheren had become a Gym Leader and no longer had the time nor the interest to travel about, Bel had returned to Nuvema to become the professor’s assistant and Touya had become the Champion, his actions limited by the Elite Four and the League. But she had kindly let them – well, Touya and Cheren, at least, because Bel no longer needed it – keep the machines just in case they ever needed it.

“Hello professor.” He greeted softly, noting that Cheren had already done so. Juniper then motioned to Bel.

“I gave Bel-chan the rest of the day off, so you three can go ahead and spend the day together with no problem.” Bel jumped up at this and rushed to pack, shouting a casual thank you over her shoulder to the professor. Juniper then returned her attention to them.

“So,” she began, slightly hesitant, “Touya, Cheren, I heard that the League is preparing for action against Team Plasma?” Her voice was softer than what they were used to and had a slightly worried tone to it. Touya wasn’t surprised that she knew about Team Plasma’s actions, since she was a Pokémon Professor, and he was pretty sure that Cheren wasn't either.

“Yes,” Cheren replied, “Although they are still not considered as a great threat, we have received reports of trainers releasing their Pokémons and honestly, that’s a bit worrying.” Touya nodded in agreement, and Juniper sighed.

“Actually… a month ago, my father lost three of his starters to Plasma.” He blinked in surprise, and the professor continued, “I haven’t told Bel-chan about this, but it seems like the head of Team Plasma broke into his research facility and freed them from their Pokéballs.” Touya and Cheren tensed in unison and stared at each other. _What?_

“Their leader just walked into Professor Cedric’s lab just like that?” Cheren asked, his tone incredulous, and Touya had to agree with him. No sane leader of a group would just walk into one of their opposition’s territories like that.

Then again, Plasma wasn’t exactly what you’d call stealthy and discreet, if the speech he heard at Accumula was any indication. It’s almost like they want to be known.

_It makes sense,_ Touya thought bemusedly, _considering their goal is to ‘free’ all Pokémons. You can’t achieve that if the public doesn’t know about your existence._

That still didn’t explain why their leader would just waltz out into the light just like this. Besides, wasn’t their leader that Ghetsis guy?

“Yes, he even told father that.” Juniper nodded grimly, and Touya sighed.

“Did he tell Professor Cedric anything else?” She shook her head, and was about to reply when Bel came skipping back in.

“Okay I’m done! Eh? What’s going on?” She looked around in confusion, sensing the tense atmosphere in the room. Touya offered her a smile, noticing that Juniper was now wearing a happy expression as well. He elbow-nudged Cheren who still wore a slight frown.

“It’s nothing.” His smile turned into a grin, “Let’s go, shall we?” He silently thanked his lucky stars up there when Bel’s confusion faded and she nodded happily. Pulling Cheren along, he cast a look to the Professor, who was waving Bel off.

_“We’ll talk about this later.”_

 

* * *

 

“Ahhhh…” Bel stretched like a Purrloin as they exited the Pokémon research facility. The blonde then turned to them, her question unvoiced but seen clearly in her emerald green eyes. Touya and Cheren looked at each other again.

“How about we go to Striaton and visit the café over there.” Touya suggested. “Bel, do you have a Flying-type with you?” The girl shook her head and he shrugged.

“Unfezant or Braviary can handle two people with no problem.” Cheren remarked, “And Touya, didn’t you have a Swanna?” The brunette shot him a look.

“I do, but it’s not with me. I left her in Skyla’s care for a while since… well I think I’m already testing the limits of the rules by carrying so many Pokémons around since I refuse to put them in boxes.” He shrugged and turned to Bel.

“I guess you just have to settle with riding with one of us.” Bel nodded in reply. And so it was decided that Touya’s Braviary will carry the Champion and Bel while Cheren’s Unfezant led the way to Striaton City.

“You know, Touya…” Bel began hesitantly a while into the flight, her clutch on the brunette’s jacket tightening a little as she talked.

“Hm?” He replied, not really knowing what Bel was going to say. He only hoped that she didn’t harp on the earlier conversation with Juniper, because Bel really didn’t need to know about Plasma. Not now, at least. Not when they are still not considered as such a big threat.

_Yet,_ his mind supplied not-so-helpfully. Touya groaned mentally and silenced that part of his mind. While he did get the feeling that Team Plasma is going to be a huge pain in the ass for him as Champion, it didn’t mean that he wanted it to happen, and it doesn’t mean that he needed a reminder that it may very well happen, _thankyouverymuch_.

“I was just… wondering. Did you happen to meet anyone in these six months?” He blinked. That was unexpected.

“I don’t… understand.” He replied, not sure as to where Bel was coming from. The girl fidgeted a bit, and Touya could tell that she was nervous but burning with curiosity.

“Well, for some reason, you seem happier. I mean it’s not very obvious but your eyes have a spark in them and they are brighter so I just assumed that you’re happier but I can’t really tell what has caught your interest and… yeah…. Actually… Never mind…” She trailed off, and Touya couldn’t really discern what she was feeling by her expression. It looked like curiosity with a dash of exasperation, as she didn’t know how to bring her point across.

But somehow, Touya understood her question after all that gibberish explanation.

The image of that boy he met yesterday in Accumula reappeared in his mind. And it wasn’t like Touya was thinking of him or anything – he _had_ been suppressing the thoughts he had about the other up until now before Bel brought _things_ up –but he had to guess it was the answer to Bel’s question.

He just didn’t want to answer it. Turning back to stare at Cheren’s back, he hoped desperately that the other didn’t hear what Bel had said. Despite what Cheren thought – that Touya was downright blind and insensitive when it came to some matters – Touya could still tell that the black-haired boy was somewhat dependent on him. He just knew that if Cheren found out that someone else had made him happy, he wouldn’t be able to stomach that thought. 

Wincing, Touya could offer no more than another incoherent mumble to Bel’s question. He could tell that the girl got the hint and withdrew from the topic, but it was probably temporary, and he was sure that she’d bring it up again.

Now, if he could only answer that question without setting Cheren off in a jealous rage, that’d be good. He just had to figure out _how_. 

The rest of the journey to Striaton was relatively peaceful, since Bel had fallen asleep halfway and Cheren was silent as usual. That left Touya to ponder about things – which _did not_ include the green-haired trainer he met the other day, thanks! – like Team Plasma, his Pokémons, the past (which had been painful to think about)…

…alright, fine. So perhaps he did think about Mr. Mysterious Guy. There. He just admitted it. Goodness. He face-palmed and sighed, noticing Bel’s bewildered look as she started leading the way to the triplet’s café. He then looked up at Cheren.

Who was staring at him with a disapproving look. Touya raised an eyebrow in question, the black-haired male blinked looked away quickly.

Well isn’t this just _absolutely brilliant_. Touya sighed as they worked to catch up with Bel, who was calling for them to hurry.

 

* * *

 

“Ah, Touya and Cheren! It's been a long time!” Cilan greeted them with the same enthusiasm Bel had kindly showered them with earlier – although it was now after noon and Touya was admittedly feeling a little lethargic after the ride. His Pansage was waving at them from where he was perched on the ex-Leader’s shoulders. Touya smiled and waved back to both Trainer and Pokémon.

“It’s been a while, Cilan.” He smiled, and motioned to Bel. “This is Bel, I think you know her but…” Cilan stared at her and brightened up a moment later. 

“Ah I believe I remember you, however it was Cress whom you challenged for the badge, was it not?” The blonde nodded, and the green-haired – green hair and he’s reminded _again_ of _him_ – trainer grinned. “Then I think Cress should know you. Ah, but it’s not good to keep customers standing outside, do come on in!” He then stepped aside for the three to enter.

Touya then saw Cress, who had looked up to see them enter. “Hello Cheren, Touya, and Bel! What a surprise to see the three of you here.” The mellow blue-haired triplet remarked and Touya shrugged.

“Well, we are going to be about this place for a few days, since Cheren and I had something to settle in Accumula. We figured we might as well catch up with Bel.” Cress nodded in understanding, and had Chili bring them to their seats.

As Touya sat down, watching Bel and Chili interact – being both extroverts, they really do mingle well with each other – and Cheren’s soft discussion with Cress, he smiled.

It really _has_ been a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Touya has Victini - well, it's more like Victini chooses to follow him around. 
> 
> His current team consist of: Samurott, Braviary, Vanilluxe, Chandelure, Emolga and Reuniclus. I've forgotten my rationale behind these choices but ah well. 
> 
> Reshiram comes…. Soon. Definitely sooner than expected.


	3. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Touya forms a conviction, and starts a new journey... by crashing into a stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story contains PokeSpe (BW Chapter) elements from this chapter onwards. You don't have to have read the manga to understand the story, but it would make everything that happens next a lot clearer in retrospect.

Touya sighed in exhaustion as he and Cheren walked Bel to her door, the Gym Leader engaged in a discussion with the blonde – on what, Touya knows not, but he’s just happy that Cheren is willing to take Bel off his hands, he had been entertaining her since they sat down in the café after all. He felt sorry that he felt grateful when they finally arrived at her destination, because while Bel was a good girl and his childhood friend and all, he just didn’t think he could endure more social interaction for the rest of the day.

After hugging Bel goodbye – which had been another level of uncomfortable – he was just about to return to his house when Cheren grabbed his hand. Startled, he turned to Cheren.

“What?” He demanded softly and Cheren frowned.

“You told professor Juniper that we’d go and talk to her, right?” Touya blinked. He did remember that, but it was already eleven at night, he didn’t think Juniper would still be up at this hour. He voiced that out to Cheren in a soft voice, and the Gym Leader frowned.

“Well, it is something urgent so I suppose she might wait up for us. Unless you’re really tired, we can go and speak to her tomorrow morning you know.” He replied, ash gray-coloured eyes softening in understanding – and Touya knew Cheren could tell that he was tired. The brunette frowned and shrugged his exhaustion off – he was the region’s Champion, and responsibility and work came before rest because he had duties to fulfill, he told himself.

“I’m fine, let’s just go. We need more information on Team Plasma as soon as possible.” Cheren nodded and started in the direction of the research lab for Juniper. 

As the gym leader had predicted, the professor was indeed up – alone, though, she wasn’t the kind of person who would make her fellow researchers work overtime with her – looking at a report with a soft frown marring her features. She looked up in surprise as they walked into her lab – they had access after all – her cyan-coloured eyes brightening when she saw them.

“Sorry to disturb,” Touya smiled at her sheepishly, declaring their entrance officially with the soft greeting. They really shouldn’t be disturbing her at this hour but since she waited up – or he assumed she did – for them, it’d be wrong of both of them to not turn up. She shook her head and smiled.

“It’s fine, I didn’t know if you two were going to come today or tomorrow, and I was going to close up after finishing this report anyway.” They nodded in understanding. “Would you like a drink?” she offered politely and they both shook their heads.

“Don’t trouble yourself, professor,” Cheren gestured for all three of them to sit down, “It’s late so we don’t want to impose on you any further than we already have.” He replied in a slightly clipped tone that Touya thought was a bit rude, however Juniper, who knew Cheren well and was used to his attitudes, merely laughed softly.

“Alright then, I’ll just fill you in on the details since, sadly, I do not know more than what my father has told me.” Touya blinked, trying to clear his head to process the upcoming important information.

“Apparently, father said the leader freed his starters in the name of liberation,” the brunette frowned, that made sense because this was Plasma they were talking about, “but what’s bothering me is the fact that he told me the leader is a young man who couldn’t have been older than twenty.” At this, both Cheren and Touya took in deep breaths out of surprise and looked at each other. That Ghetsis guy wasn't the leader?

Juniper didn’t seem to notice their silent conversation, and continued staring and playing with her pristine white lab coat. “He accuses us of stripping Pokémon of their freedom and making use of them – I mean, we’re not doing that at all because they seem to be happy with us. And all we wanted to do was improve the bond between Pokémon and people…” She looked like she was going to break down at any given second – most likely an effect of all the stress and her exhaustion, as well as having her very passion accused and criticised  – and Touya decided to put an end to it.

Standing up, he walked towards Juniper – who was sitting opposite him and Cheren – and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, causing her to blink in surprise.

“It’s alright, professor. We’ve got all the information we need; you don’t need to harp on it anymore. Right, Cheren?” His companion, who had gone very still at Juniper’s words, snapped out of his thoughts and nodded.

“Professor, you should go home soon and get some rest.” Touya then continued, leaving Cheren to wander in his thoughts once more. Although he wasn’t that good at comforting people, Cheren was comparatively worse so he figured he should be the one comforting Juniper in her current state. He’d never seen the usually bright professor this depressed.

 _‘I won’t forgive them.’_ He clenched his fists and bit his lips in anger, _‘they don’t have the right to say something like that. They don’t have the right to judge.’_

Juniper sighed, looked up and smiled at them with tired – not only physically but emotionally as well – eyes.

“You boys can go ahead, I have some things to clear up before I go. I’ll be fine.” She grinned, and Touya felt his heart clench slightly, in the time since he met Juniper – which was when he was really young – he had never seen her so depressed. A look towards Cheren, who now had his eyes narrowed and lips pursed assured Touya that his companion felt the same.

Well that just made the whole Plasma issue personal. Touya decided and sighed in resignation when Juniper shooed the both of them out of her lab with a not so convincing _“I’ll be fine!”_.

 

* * *

 

Mornings, Touya decided, are absolutely disastrous things. He still hasn’t gotten over what Juniper had told them yesterday: that Team Plasma’s leader – who apparently isn’t even that much older than Touya himself damn it – had decided that humans were hurting Pokémon with all the research and training – who was _he_ to judge?

 _Somehow_ , he mused while glaring at Cheren who sat in front of him with a nonchalant air, _I think this is when I’m supposed to recall something, like a small but important detail which I can’t remember._ Something was nagging at the back of his brain, but he just doesn’t seem to be able to remember what it was. It felt like he had the key to one of the many puzzles of Plasma that he was now troubled with. But he just couldn’t remember anything to save his life. 

“Feels like old times, doesn’t it?” Cheren remarked and Touya glared harder.

The reason for Touya’s current anger with Cheren was simple: Cheren had, once again, forced his way into Touya’s room and dressed his half-awake friend up when Touya overslept – which of course included stripping him down damn it! –

like how he used to do in the past. _When they were still schooling._

He scowled and the other smirked.

“No it doesn’t.” He snapped, “It feels like utter embarrassment. When will you stop doing that?”

“When you stop over-sleeping.” Came Cheren’s bored reply and Touya leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and mumbling some not-so-nice words towards Cheren.

After a few moments of sulking – in which Cheren spend his time sipping at his coffee and admiring the interior of the kitchen of Touya’s house for the nth time – he finally decided to get rid of Touya The Brat and replace it with Touya The Champion.

“Cheren…” He began, and Cheren looked up at him – apparently bored of his surroundings and taken to watching the ripples in his coffee instead – with alertness. One of the things Touya liked about Cheren was that his childhood friend could always catch when his mood changes and when he wanted to be serious. 

“About what Professor Juniper said yesterday…” He continued, and Cheren nodded grimly.

“It’s surprising that that Ghetsis person isn’t Team Plasma’s leader like we’ve all expected.” Touya frowned.

“That still doesn’t explain why he holds such a large authority over the members though.” The brunette mused.

“Well, we still don’t know much about the hierarchy of Team Plasma, but if Ghetsis isn’t the leader, we can assume that he still holds a high person and we can’t ignore the possibility of there being other individuals like him in the organization.” Cheren reasoned and Touya nodded this time.

“We can’t assume every organization to be similar to Kanto region’s Team Rocket, after all.” The Champion shook his head and looked down at his cup with a small smile. Cheren merely shrugged.

“However, since Team Plasma are moving a lot more often now, we need to take action soon.” The gym leader suggested, and he frowned.

“I don’t think taking action recklessly now is a good option, though, as there’re still a lot of unknowns about Plasma.” Touya replied and sighed. He didn’t want to think about it. Why were they having this conversation now when there was going to be a meeting with all the gym leaders next week on plausible actions? He voiced his thoughts to Cheren, who blinked in surprise.

“I didn’t know you’re going for the meeting next week.” Touya gave him a lopsided smile and Cheren sighed, brushing his fringe out of his eyes. “Alright then, we’ll continue this conversation next week.” He smirked and stood up.

“And I have a job to get back to, the gym’s been closed for way too long. Can’t have them complaining to the league about missing gym leaders after all.” Cheren seemed to be mumbling to himself, but Touya stood up and walked him out anyway.

“Don’t get into trouble.” Were Cheren’s parting words, Touya frowned and pouted as the Gym Leader walked down the streets of Nuvema, trying to fix his hair from Cheren’s earlier ruffling.

Seriously, the other treated him too much like a child sometimes. 

 _‘But it isn’t a bad thing,’_ Touya thought, smiling and watching Cheren leave for Aspertia on his Unfezant. It’s comforting to know that Cheren hasn’t changed at all in his treatment of Touya even when the brunette had beat him to the League and Champion position first – to be honest, he thought that Cheren seemed happier after his training with Alder and the other seemed content with his Gym Leader job.

 _‘He must have found his answer to his strength.’_ Touya mused quietly and walked back into his house – his mom wouldn’t be back until evening, and Touya wanted to at least have one dinner with her before he leaves again.

 

* * *

 

Touya departed for Accumula on foot by the next morning, waving goodbye to his mother. He, out of pure nostalgia – although it’s only been a little over a year since he stepped out of Nuvema for his first adventure – wanted to retrace his journey from his hometown. And walking seemed to be a more appealing option than flying on his Braviary at that moment.

“Touya! TOUYA!” He paused, and turned back to Professor Juniper – who, for the record, looked a lot better than when he last saw her the day before – with a curious glance.

“Professor, you’re feeling better.” It was a remark that made Juniper beam, and she pressed a Pokéball into his hands gently without a word. Touya jumped, and looked into it – a Tepig, but why was Juniper giving him a new starter when he had Samurott?

“This is…” He trailed off, not understanding Juniper’s motives. The professor continued grinning.

“Do you remember the very first time you set off on your trip, Bel knocked over a Pokéball and a Tepig escaped?” Touya blinked, confused for a moment, before nodding. He did remember that particular incident. He, Cheren and Bel had decided to visit Professor Juniper after getting their starters, and she had been doing some routine checks on the other starters when Bel – out of her clumsiness – freed a Tepig when she knocked its Pokéball over. The Tepig had gone into the forest and it had taken Touya some time to coax it back.

“Well, apparently this little guy,” Juniper poked the surface of the Pokéball, grinning cheekily, “Decided that he liked you so much that he refused to be given to other trainers. Now I know that you already have a complete team and Victini, but won’t you just let him travel with you?” The brunette blinked again, and looked down at the Pokémon in amazement – he didn’t know he left that much of an impression on that starter.

Freeing the Pokémon from its confines within the Pokéball, he yelped in surprise when the Tepig hopped into his arms and started nuzzling him affectionately – reminding him a lot of Victini, Emolga and Samurott when he was still an Oshawott.

He smiled, well, as long as he didn’t use the little guy in battle; he figured that it should be fine allowing him to travel with him.

Looking up to Juniper again, he smiled.

“I’d love to do so, professor. It’d just be like me going on an adventure all over again.” He laughed and patted the Tepig affectionately on the head, to which the fire Pokémon made small and contented noises to.

The professor nodded and waved Touya – with the Tepig resting contently on his shoulder – off onto route one, with a promise that he’d return to Nuvema to visit more regularly because they haven’t been seeing much of him and everyone missed him. 

 _‘But, I’ve changed so much. And Nuvema reminds me of who I no longer am.’_ Touya thought sadly, before blinking in surprise at Victini who had freed itself from its Pokéball to meet his new Fire companion. He watched in amusement as Tepig accommodated Victini and the two started playing along route one.

“Now, now,” Touya called out to the two, “I want to at least be able to reach Accumula before noon, so we’ll have to get a move on but you two can play along the way but without getting lost, alright?” He sweatdropped at seeing Victini and Tepig taken to wrestling each other on the floor – since Tepig couldn’t fly, Victini had apparently taken to lowering it’s altitude to suit its new companion.

The two Pokémons turned and blinked at him.

 

* * *

 

“Hey! Wait up!” Touya skidded down the stairs, panic clear on his face as Tepig and Victini giggled – don’t ask how Touya knew, he just _knew_ that they were giggling at him – and continued their game of chase into the small town of Accumula. The two fire types paused for a moment to look back at him, before smirking in unison at each other and dashed forward at a faster speed than before.

“Eh!” Touya mentally groaned, this was entirely not what he had in mind when he wanted to retrace his path, but it seems that his new companion and Victini were both in the playful mood. While Touya didn’t mind much, sometimes they really had to give him a break. Weren’t they tired? He pouted, feeling miserable and shook his head to clear his mind before trying to catch up to his two crafty runaways.

Only to turn and find his Tepig playing with _another_ Tepig, while Victini hovered nearby looking on in slight disappointment at the lost of its new playmate.

Touya didn’t even have the time to stop properly before he crashed into someone.

 

* * *

 

White was facing a problem.

A huge problem, in fact. Her eyebrow twitched as she eyed the vice-director in distaste, the idiot who had screwed up the director’s demand when it was passed on to her. Where was she going to get a male Tepig on such short notice?! 

Holding onto Bubu-chan’s Pokéball, she kicked the floor idly, trying to look – and remain – calm while she thought of a solution. Perhaps she could look around for a newbie trainer and ask if she could borrow their starter?

Right, like that’d work. She sighed, any sensible trainer wouldn’t lend their Pokémon to her because they were all too busy trying to train them. That wouldn’t work.

 _Ahh. I could use a miracle now._ She thought, looking up at the sky as if a male Tepig with angel wings would fall onto her at any given time now.

She blinked when she felt a push in her hand, her first thoughts of _Bubu-chan!_ disappearing immediately when she saw that said female Tepig was, in fact, playing with another Tepig.

A male Tepig. 

And White felt like all the Gods above just smiled down on her – thank Arceus.

Her relief didn’t last long, though, when a blur of black and dark blue and brunette brown knocked into her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I used White instead of Touko since I've always HC'd Touko as Touya's sibling/twin (whichever) - while White can be a different person. 
> 
> It's going to be pretty fast moving from now on hopefully, since the first three were pretty much some character and background building. 
> 
> I’m aware that there are some parts that could be elaborated on, but I’ll do separate short stories on those as side stories since… the details won’t really fit well into the story. Like Cheren and Touya, as well as the Tepig, for example. 
> 
> This is basically all I've written thus far (I know I'm a sad person) - so updated will come extremely slowly. I'm not promising anything. Maybe when the BW remake comes out. *looks into the distance*


End file.
